Free Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie Page B

dried mud and looked so pathetic that Sophie said, "Oh, okay," and hauled him in with her, hosing him down while he squirmed in ecstasy under the water, and then sudsing him up with eucalyptus-and-lavender shampoo. Half an hour later, they both sat blow-dried in the kitchen, enjoying the semi-cool night air that came in through the screen door, the dog keeping one eye on the Dove Bar Sophie was eating. Sophie licked the ice cream and worried again about the accident, the movie, and the mayor.
    She was still obsessing when Amy came down the stairs in her baby-doll pajamas, looking a lot like she had when she was ten. She sat in the chair across from Sophie and drew her knees up to her chin.
    "We need a love scene," Amy said. "Clea wants one."
    "A love scene."She should have figured on that, it was so like Clea. Sophie gave the wallpaper a dirty look in place of Clea. "I can't write a love scene. Especially not with those damn things staring at me."
    "You cannot blame writer's block on giant mutant cherries," Amy began. Then she stopped, and said,
    "Oh. Cherries."
    "What?" Sophie said, and Amy said, "You know. Cherries. And Chet."
    "Chad," Sophie said, but she sat back, a little jolted. "I'm sure that's not it." She should ask Brandon . He knew everything about her subconscious. She frowned at the wall phone. She should have called Brandon before now, but she kept forgetting him.
    Amy shifted uneasily. "Clea's decided that Rob is the love interest. She says it's better for what she has in mind."
    "I bet it is." Sophie thought about it and nodded. "So she comes back to meet her old boyfriend and falls for his son.Lotof conflict there." She thought it through. "Oh, hell, a lot of conflict there. Frank's going to have a fit."
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    "If we do this right, he'll never know," Amy said. "Just write a nice seduction scene, and we can finish this up."
    Sophie sat up and tapped her PowerBook out of sleep mode. "Who seduces who?"
    "Are you kidding? Clea's an old-fashioned girl. He seduces her."
    "So we're not doing a documentary." Sophie began to type in the scene log line, and Amy jerked away and stood up. "Hello?" Sophie said. "What?"
    "Nothing," Amy said.
    Sophie pointed at the chair. "Sit."
    Amy sat, her feet on the floor this time.
    "I've been very patient," Sophie told her, "but there's something you're not telling me which is dumb because you know I'll stand behind you no matter what you want. What are you doing?"
    "I'm making a documentary," Amy said.
    Sophie sat back. "You're making a documentary about Clea coming home to Temptation?"
    "No, I'm making a movie of that. I'm making a documentary about making the movie." Amy leaned forward. "This is so cool, Soph. I didn't want to tell you because I wanted you to be natural in the footage—"
    Footage?"Wait a minute."
    "—but you wouldn't believe how great this is already. That virginity stuff we talked about last night came out great – well, a little dark, but very moody with Clea all lit by those candles, and I can use the stuff she said as a voice-over—"
    "Amy!"
    Amy stopped and Sophie reminded herself to be supportive. "You filmed me on the porch last night?"
    "All of us," Amy said. "I set up the camera in the bushes. It's good stuff, Soph. And then today I interviewed Frank and got him to talk to the camera and he really comes across as the butthead he is."
    "Is that far? Did he realize—"
    "He knew he was on camera. He signed a release. And we're going to have so much stuff to cut together, it's going to be great."
    Sophie leaned forward. "Amy, you're conning these people. They're signing releases because they think they'll look great, and you're—"
    "I'm not conning them," Amy said, indignant. "And even if I am, I'm not taking anybody's money. I'm just filming what they say. I'm not changing their words. I'm just getting what I want." Page 42
    "You have to think about other people," Sophie said, and Amy said, "No, that was you and Mama, trying to save everybody. Davy